Review by eldane - The Phoenix King

eldane 's review for:

The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma

3.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I enjoyed this book for the most part, especially the first half. I was drawn in by the sci-fantasy premise and the promise of a self-assured and powerful firebending princess. However, as the novel went on, I gradually lost interest, particularly after the reveal of Yassen's motivations. Maybe I just didn't read close enough, but it was so jarring to have been in his POV for so long and not have any inclination that he was still

working for the Arohassin and plotted to kill Elena

. It wasn't a believable enough twist because Yassen kept that information from the reader; it would have been more successful if either 1) we didn't have his POV, or 2) we knew his motivations from the beginning to flesh out his character and further bolster the tension and slow-burn romance between him and Elena.

As far as Elena is concerned, this was another example of a "badass FMC losing her badassery and all 'ruthless' parts of her personality because Hot Guy ™ showed up." Elena spends all this time saying she'll be whatever kind of queen necessary, and the moment she learns who is responsible for

1) the death of her father, 2) the seizing of her rightful throne, 3) the destruction of her palace, and 4) the mistreatment of her people

she has a moment of anger and then is like, "You know what? That's not actually a dealbreaker for me. Plus you're hot." I would have rooted for their romance if Yassen had not known/been a part of all that happened, but the fact that he was directly involved is irredeemable to me, regardless of what her father was responsible for. Their romance felt shoehorned in, especially considering the bizarre pacing of the last fifth of the novel or so and the tragic losses Elena has suffered. Why would she fall for the man

responsible, even if in part, for so much destruction and tragedy?

Is she 16 or 25?

Another point of contention for me is this running theme of the "badass FMC" being allowed to win by the obviously more powerful and strong and skilled male characters, repeatedly. In every scene where Elena fights Yassen and he lets her win, it doesn't read as chivalrous or insight into his true feelings for her but a very frustrating contradiction of her strength and prowess. The scene where she

finally pummels him for his responsibility for the death of her father

he just lets it happen because he feels bad, I guess? The novel repeats over and over that Elena is badass and skilled and strong, and while I get that Yassen is a trained assassin, his allowance of her to hurt him without consequence undermines her skill and abilities and makes her seem more like a princess throwing a tantrum than a fully grown woman who is rightfully angry and is trained in some of the most deadly martial arts.

Regarding Elena's father, the fact that she forgives him instantly for

cold-blooded murder

was dissatisfying. After she learned what her father had done, I saw two possibilities for her character: either abhor his actions and refuse to forgive him, or acknowledge that he "did what he had to do" and be just as ruthless herself. It seemed like she forgave him and moved on from the seriousness of his crimes for plot reasons, which also happened earlier, when the high priestess told Elena what her father had done. Elena is all confused, the priestess is taken away, and then Elena immediately moves on from the situation and doesn't think, "Maybe I should look into this serious accusation against my father." Y'know, because of the

murder

.

Finally, when it comes to the worldbuilding, I was so excited to see it work, but it ended up being more underwhelmed than anything. I liked the fact that it was a sci-fantasy (an underrated genre) but it felt far more fantasy than sci-fi. The firebending part didn't feel cohesive with the neon lights and hovertrains and pod-communicators, almost like they were superficial to check off the boxes of "sci-fi conventions." I never felt confident in my understanding of the world, perhaps the technology didn't feel completely integrated. The sci-fi elements felt like they were only mentioned because of plot reasons rather than to enrich the worldbuilding and make it believable. The book didn't quite commit to the sci-fi of it all, and so the worldbuilding feels flat.

This was Avatar: The Last Airbender in another universe (~~Firelord Ozai~~ King Leo searches for the ~~Avatar~~ Prophet while war wages on the horizon). The only difference is that while Elena thought she was cruel and ruthless, Azula actually was.

Content Warnings